


And All the Sisters Virtuous

by Siria



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Misses Clause Challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 05:04:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2839058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siria/pseuds/Siria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gamora found her on the third moon of Jahqh.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And All the Sisters Virtuous

**Author's Note:**

  * For [such_heights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/such_heights/gifts).



Gamora found her on the third moon of Jahqh. They'd hunted there once as children, and been hunted; Nebula presumed that Gamora was here now for more of the same. Her palms itched for a knife, a sword, and Nebula cocked her head, assessing angles and probabilities. After such a long chase, a fight would be welcome. But her sister had always been infuriating. Gamora stood at the far end of the alleyway, her hands empty and her face sorrowful. 

"I'm not here for that," Gamora said, though Nebula had said nothing at all. 

Nebula snarled at her. "I don't care what you think or what you plan," she said, which was true. What had been the worst, what had always been the worst, was that Gamora could have stayed with her. The others hadn't chosen to die, but Gamora had chosen to walk away. Nebula's loyalty never could withstand betrayal.

"We've found something," Gamora said. She spread her fingers wide, her thumbs folded in across her palms, an almost-forgotten Zehoberei gesture of truce. "Something that we can use against Thanos. But we're going to need your help to use it."

Nebula hadn't hesitated to promise Ronon her aid in destroying a thousand worlds if it would rid the galaxy of Thanos. She hesitated now. 

"Talk," Nebula said instead. It would help her to stall for time, if nothing else. 

"Peter has suggested that we use an old Terran strategy, called Trojahnhors, to carry out the attack," Gamora said. "But if we're to succeed, we need someone who knows the approach through the asteroid field to Thanos' territory even better than I do. It's risky, but if we don't try he's sure to hunt us down in the end."

"'We'," Nebula said. "Your group."

"My team," Gamora said evenly. 

Nebula stared at her for a long moment. She remembered the first time she'd met Gamora. They'd both been small and afraid, and in the dark of the holding cell, Gamora had stunk of fear-sweat. But there was something else to that memory, too—something brighter. "When he took us, you sang," she said, the words betraying her before she could stop herself. She had no idea why she'd blurted that out; from the way Gamora's eyes widened, no more had she. 

"Yes. _Rrumilolomirui_ ," Gamora said. "My mothers sang it to me every night to help me sleep."

Over the years, Nebula was sure that she'd come to know the song as well as any Zehoberei child. Gamora had hummed it in dark places, sung it under her breath on the rare occasions that they were allowed a meal that didn't do double duty as a training exercise. 

"I've lost them," Nebula admitted. "I can't, anymore."

Gamora's jawline tightened. "Memory modifications don't have to be permanent. He couldn't ever take anything _out_ , it—"

Nebula shook her head, then tapped at her throat where the scars had long since faded away but Thanos' engineering still lurked beneath. "I can remember the songs. I just can't sing them."

Gamora took a breath. "I can't promise you anything."

"I know. We owe one another nothing." 

The noise Gamora made was one of pure exasperation. "We've been sisters together, Nebula, we—"

"We've been killers together." The look on Gamora's face was satisfying, as it was when Nebula continued, "Though those don't have to be contradictions, I suppose." Still. It was true that Nebula's own anger was long past all reckoning, a heat that burned at the core of her, but it might be satisfying to finally expend some of it on Thanos, without need for a proxy. 

"Is that a yes?" Gamora said through gritted teeth. 

"You're still in that terrible little ship?" When Gamora nodded, Nebula continued, "I'll patch through the coordinates. Meet in seventeen standard hours."

"You can come with us," Gamora said. "I can make the others behave. Mostly."

"Seventeen standard hours," Nebula said, before turning and heading back in the direction of her own ship. She couldn't bear to travel with her sister, but maybe she would be able to hunt alongside her instead.


End file.
